The Thief
Henry's feet pounded on the hot sidewalk, his heart beating wildly. Boy, he thought. I sure know how to get myself into trouble. This was the second time Henry had been chased by the same fuming storekeeper. All he had taken was one little apple from a fruit stand. He didn't think anyone would notice. By the way the man acted, anyone would have thought he had stolen a bag full of diamonds.
Henry rounded the corner. Almost there. His house was at the end of this block. With a burst of energy he sprinted the last length of sidewalk and up his front steps. He threw open the door, stepped inside, and slammed it shut. Henry sank to the floor, breathing hard. He glanced at the apple in his hand. It seemed he had picked up the worst one of the lot. It was small and bruised, and when he took a bite it was practically mush. This would have probably ended up in the trash whether I had stolen it or not, Henry thought. No harm done. But this was a lesson. Stealing just wasn't worth it. As Henry dumped the apple in the trash, he made a vow to never steal anything again.
"This unpredictable New Orleans weather!" Henry's mother complained under her breath. "Two days ago you needed a jacket. Now I can hardly stand the heat!" It was a day after Henry's little apple incident, and his mother was now on the couch, fanning herself. “Henry, would you please go and get me some carrots? I'm making soup tonight."
"Sure, mom. I was going to take a walk anyway. It's hotter in here than outside." Henry answered, already on his way out the door. His mother was right. It was hot. The sun beat down his back as he walked to the store, bought some carrots, and started for home.
On his way home, Henry noticed a man from the street with ragged clothes step up to a gentleman in a Tuxedo. His hand shot out and he smoothly took the man’s wallet out of his back pocket. "Hey, what are you doing?" Henry shouted, dashing forward. The man started running, and Henry followed. The gentleman's hand went to his pocket. "I’ve been robbed!" he shouted.
Henry had almost caught up with the pickpocket when he felt an iron grip on his arm " Let me go! I have to catch him!" Henry cried to whoever it was who had his arm.
"We already have." a gruff voice said behind him. Henry spun around, and saw it was policeman who had his arm. "No! You've got it all wrong!” Henry shouted. "The real thief is right...." Henry stopped. His eyes scanned the sea of heads before him, but the pickpocket was already lost in the busy streets of New Orleans. "What's going on?" a storekeeper asked, coming out of his shop.
" This little scamp just stole a gentleman's wallet, but he denies it all” The policeman huffed.
" Don't trust him! He's taken goods from my store more than once." The storekeeper replied. Henry recognized him as the man he had stolen the apples from. What a mess!
" I only took an apple!" Henry protested. "A small one, too!” The policeman didn't listen. He practically dragged Henry to the police station and sat him down in a metal chair. Henry sat worridly in his seat as The officer left the room and picked up a telephone, keeping a suspicious eye on Henry as he spoke into it. He emerged from his office when he finished, pulling up a chair next to Henry.
" I called your parents, so they should be here shortly. In the meantime, I think I'll fill you in on how this is going to work." the policeman said. "Unless you can prove you are innocent by tomorrow night, you are going to have to pay the gentleman back- he had 300 dollars in that wallet. To tell you the truth, You’re getting off easy. If you were older, you’d be in jail right now."
" But... my parents don't have that kind of money." Henry protested. He was about to go on when his mother came in. She didn't say anything, just gave him a sort of sad, disappointed look. She left him where he was while she quietly talked to the policeman in a corner of the room. Then she got up, firmly took Henry's hand, and walked him home. She had a talk with him and then sent him up to his room.
As Henry lay in his bed, he knew what he had to do. He opened his window and climbed down the side of the house like he used to do when he was a bit younger. Then he traced his steps to the spot he had chased the pickpocket.
As Henry lay in his bed, he knew what he had to do. He opened his window and climbed down the side of the house like he used to do when he was a bit younger. Then he traced his steps to the spot he had chased the pickpocket.
Now, one of the major things Henry had noticed about the pickpocket was he had very messy, muddy boots. Henry found some footprints that stood out among all the others and followed them. They led into an ally. He glanced around. There were a few bent up trashcans, but that was all. It was at the very end of the day, about 7:00, and there were a lot of dark shadows. When he strained his eyes, he could barely make out the footprints.
It was unnervingly quiet. The only sound was Henry's own breathing. He slowly followed the footprints, which led to behind one of the trashcans. He looked behind it, but the only thing there was a beat-up old hat. Henry sighed in frustration. Hot tears stung his eyes. It wasn’t fair. He had been so close...
Henry looked at the old hat in disgust. He kicked at it with all his might. The hat flipped over, reveling a stack of wallets! With a shaking hand, Henry picked them up. As he shifted through the wallets, he noticed a red one with tassels. Wait… he recognized this one! It was the gentleman’s wallet! Henry grinned from ear to ear as he tucked the wallets safely away in both of his large pockets.
He turned around and sprinted all the way home, looking back over his shoulder from time to time. Henry almost expected a hooded figure to emerge from a doorway and chase him, but no one did. He burst into the house and ran to the kitchen where his mom was sitting, then dumped his findings on the table. He watched her jaw drop. “ I, uh, found these.” Henry panted, trying to keep from laughing out of sheer joy.
The next afternoon Henry sat smiling, going over the events of the day in his mind. The policeman had apologized, and had even given Henry 200 dollars for finding all the lost wallets. Henry had given the sum to his mother, except for a bit that he kept as spending money.
The officer had also told Henry that his men had caught the real thief. It had been a snap after Henry showed them the hiding place. They had simply waited undercover until the man showed up to stow another wallet. Then Presto! They had him in handcuffs before he knew what was happening.
Henry still remembered the policeman’s last words: “All’s well that ends well, eh Henry?” How very true, Henry thought. How very, very true.
By: Anne Field :)
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